All Events

Thursdays 6, 13, 20 and 27 November 2008, at LICC

A series of 4 lectures with Peter Dixon

Thursday 6th November, 6.30-8.30pm - “War in the 21st Century:  when is it right to fight?”

Christian pacifists hold the view that it is always wrong to use violence, while other Christians claim that there are circumstances when it is not only right but an essential form of service.  This debate has continued for centuries and is still relevant today.  How does the Just War tradition stand up against the existence of weapons of mass destruction and the prevalence of international terrorism?

Thursday 27th November, 7:30pm - 9:30pm, Starbucks, Oxford Road, Manchester, M1 6EY

with John Lee

Join John Lee as he shares his ideas on the significance of the art and practice of architecture for Christians today.

John Lee is an architect working I'm Central Manchester. He began his professional career working with Grimshaw, architects of the Eden Project in Cornwall, before settling in Manchester. Since 1998, his award-winning practice Arca has designed striking modern buildings and masterplans for clients in social housing, the arts, residential property development and regeneration.

Mondays, January 19, 26, February 2, 9 and 16, at LICC. 6.30-8.30pm

with John Parmiter

Ten simple statements, barely 300 words, yet the Ten Commandments are the foundation of our laws and so many of our institutional structures; they underpin our very civilisation. When they are ignored people get hurt; and we offend God.  

God is concerned for our work and our experience of it; he knows it is a context in which we so often feel alone and vulnerable. The Ten Commandments speak into all the issues we face there – work pressures, work-life balance, integrity, excessive hours, attitudes to money, success and relationships. They point our hearts back to God, confronting us with the need to wrestle with real challenges: is the misuse of God’s name in our workplaces limited to swearing? What does it mean to keep a Sabbath in the midst of a global economy that seemingly never sleeps? How can we avoid our work becoming no more than a means to the fulfilment of covetous desires rather than a context for our flourishing?  

Monday, March 2, at LICC, 6.45pm – 8.30pm

with Nick Spencer

Charles Darwin is a modern icon: one of the world's most brilliant scientists and the author of a theory that changed the way humans look at themselves and the world around us. But what did he himself believe? Was he an atheist? Did he ever have a Christian faith? Did he write with atheistic agenda? Did he, as some claim, convert on his deathbed?
 
Marking the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species, Nick Spencer, author of Darwin and God, presents an evening exploring Darwin's own religious journey - a fascinating, tempestuous and moving story that is rarely told and often misunderstood. Exploring the issues of evolution, design and – crucially – suffering, which played such an important role in Darwin’s own loss of faith, this event provides a great opportunity for you to equip yourself with the tools to engage fruitfully with the ongoing debate about Darwinism, atheism and the Christian faith.

 March 4th - 6th 2009: 10.30am - 4.30pm, LICC, St Peters.

BE THE BEST WRITER YOU CAN BE!

Wed 4th: Exploring aims and genres
with authors Jean Watson and Teresa O'Driscoll

Thurs 5th:  Writing Resources for Scripture Union
with commissioning editor Tricia Williams

Fri 6th: Writing for the stage/radio
with playwright Jan Moran Neil  

Mondays March 16, 23 and 30, at LICC, 6.45pm-8.30pm

with Nigel Hopper

Jesus described his followers as the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Both are ‘earthy’ metaphors, implying the biblical truth that our Christian faith must be worked out in the midst of ordinary, everyday life, not in detachment from it. For many Christians, however, living out their faith in the context of contemporary culture is a daunting prospect. How can we demonstrate the timeless relevance of the gospel in our particular time and place?

To help facilitate a practical response to this challenge, LICC’s Lecturer in Contemporary Culture, Nigel Hopper, has adapted his material from our acclaimed Toolbox course into three workshops.  Running on consecutive Monday evenings, each workshop will contain a stimulating mix of teaching, discussion and practical exercises.

8-12 June, and 14-18 September 2009

- A high intensity training programme to help Christians engage with today’s rapidly changing world

- Developing skills in biblical interpretation & contemporary cultural engagement

To view a clip of our Toolbox Course, click here.